Asian airlines face "drastic" cuts in their planned growth because of the coronavirus crisis, an industry group warned, adding gloom to an already depleted Singapore Airshow as more companies scaled back plans on Monday. The Singapore Airshow from Feb. 11 to 16 is proceeding, but the exhibition centre is pockmarked with empty spaces that would have held displays from Chinese companies and others skipping the show because of the epidemic, which has killed more than 900 people. More than 70 exhibitors, including major U.S. defence firms Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co have pulled out over concerns related to the new coronavirus.

* Markets await U.S. Fed Chair Powell's speech due late Friday * Philippine set to fall for a third straight session * Singapore core inflation seen slowing to near 3-yr low - poll By Niyati Shetty Aug 23 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets dropped on Friday as investors kept to the sidelines amid uncertainty over the outlook of U.S. interest rates, while fears of a global economic slowdown persisted. The U.S. Federal Reserve has come under increasing pressure to cut borrowing costs more, including a call by President Donald Trump on Wednesday for the central bank to reduce its benchmark rate. With U.S. bond markets signalling a looming recession, markets are also eagerly awaiting a speech by Fed chair, Jerome Powell, who is due to speak at a gathering of global policymakers later in the day.

SINGAPORE (July 5): It has been a busy couple of months for Singapore Technologies Engineering. The Temasek Holdings-backed defence and engineering group in June inked a partnership agreement with telecommunications equipment manufacturer Nokia to collaborate on key technology areas such as 5G and Internet of Things (IoT). In the same breath, ST Engineering also announced a joint venture between its aerospace unit and the engineering arm of Vietnam Airlines to provide component maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) solutions in Vietnam.